Explosion over California shows threat from smaller asteroids

January 13, 2015 6:12 PM

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This image is from a video of the explosion over California on Nov. 6, 2013. The meteor was reminiscent of the bigger one that blew up over Russia in February. New research is pointing to a much greater risk of Earth being hit by small asteroids that wouldn't kill the planet but could flatten a city. less

This image is from a video of the explosion over California on Nov. 6, 2013. The meteor was reminiscent of the bigger one that blew up over Russia in February. New research is pointing to a much greater risk ... more

This image is from a video of the explosion over California on... Photo-5431561.73631 - seattlepi.com

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Maps show how scientists will narrow the field of impact of a small asteroid in the weeks approaching the time of impact.

Maps show how scientists will narrow the field of impact of a small asteroid in the weeks approaching the time of impact.

Photo: F.duckett, AP

Maps show how scientists will narrow the field of impact of a small... Photo-5431617.73631 - seattlepi.com

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This image shows the flash above Chelyabinsk, Russia, from the fireball streaking through the sky on Feb. 15, 2013. The small asteroid was approximately 56 to 66 feet (17 to 20 meters) in diameter. The picture was taken by a local resident, M. Ahmetvaleev. less

This image shows the flash above Chelyabinsk, Russia, from the fireball streaking through the sky on Feb. 15, 2013. The small asteroid was approximately 56 to 66 feet (17 to 20 meters) in diameter. The picture ... more

This photo provided by The Field Museum in Chicago, taken April 9, 2013, shows pieces of a meteor that exploded over Russia's Ural Mountains in February after they were catalogued on their arrival at the Chicago museum. The museum received nearly two pounds of small meteorite pieces donated by a collector.
After a surprise meteor hit Earth at 42,000 mph and exploded over a Russian city in February, smashing windows and causing minor injuries, scientists studying the aftermath say the threat of space rocks hurtling toward our planet is bigger than they had thought.
Meteors like the one that exploded over Chelyabinsk _ and those that are even bigger and more dangerous _ are probably four to five times more likely to hit Earth than scientists thought before the February mid-air explosion, according to three studies released Wednesday in the journals Nature and Science. less

This photo provided by The Field Museum in Chicago, taken April 9, 2013, shows pieces of a meteor that exploded over Russia's Ural Mountains in February after they were catalogued on their arrival at the ... more

Photo: Karen Bean, ASSOCIATED PRESS

This photo provided by The Field Museum in Chicago, taken April 9,... Photo-5431619.73631 - seattlepi.com